


Fall For You

by lovethedarkside



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angel!Nico, But this story is about Percico, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mentions of Percabeth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-22
Updated: 2014-01-22
Packaged: 2018-01-09 14:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1147121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovethedarkside/pseuds/lovethedarkside
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I know how it feels to fall from grace. It's painful, to say the least. Sometimes, though, you fall from something good and into something even better. One day, you'll find it."</p>
<p>It seems a little stereotypical. He just ran into his ex-girlfriend and is now drinking his guts out at the bar, when a man appears, claiming to be his guardian angel. Who is he, really?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fall For You

Percy Jackson was a hero once. Maybe he didn't slay dragons or save a princess from a tower, but he worked tirelessly to support the community. He volunteered to help educate children from rough communities, he donated millions to charities, and he offered up his own belongings to those people who had none.

He had friends, too. People he pretended to like and people he spent every free second of the day with. They lived the good life: hot summer days at the pool, light lunches at fancy restaurants, skipping lines at night clubs.

Percy was popular, that was no question. There was just no possible way for anyone to not like him. After all, he was filthy rich, influential, handsome, and selfless. In retrospect, Percy supposed it was the "selfless" part that did him in.

Just as he reached the highest glory he would reach, things began to crumble. One incident led to another, and another, and Percy was buried alive under the remnants of his old life. He went from having it all to having nothing, from being the kind soul who gives to charity to being the poor soul who takes refuge in charity. All he had were the clothes on his back and the food he got from the soup kitchens. With nothing for them to take anymore, he so-called " friends" left him, one by one, for someone richer. His already broken family diminished until he was the only one left, floating on an ice floe in the middle of a frigid ocean.

Those dark ages almost killed him. The weight of the world was unceremoniously dropped onto his back, and he struggled each day to survive. Somehow, he managed it, but not without scars, not without becoming crippled. He recovered, yes, but not completely. There was no way Percy would ever recover completely after that.

Today had been a particularly rough day. First, his alarm clock decided to spazz out on him, sending him a cringe-worthy half hour late for work. Then, his boss sent him to refill the Slushy Machine. That was supposed to be a relatively easy job, just pop the old one out and replace it with the new one. Of course, somehow Percy managed to break the machine, causing a massive spill. Percy was placed on cashier duty for the rest of the day, after wiping up his mess. The worst part of his day, however, was running into Annabeth.

At four o'clock sharp, he left the little convenience store and turned right, just as he did every day. Pulling up his hood against the cold drizzle, he set out for his cheap and cramped New York apartment.

One block from his destination, he stopped dead in his tracks. There, standing primly on the street corner and clad in a practical black skirt paired with a silky white blouse, was a woman. A bright red umbrella was clutched in a slender hand, sheltering her impeccable hair from the rain. Percy recognized her immediately, from the slight dip at the base of her neck and in between her collarbones, the gentle curve of her body from her hip to her waist to her neck, the way the watery light glanced off her hair and made it shine gold. Percy swallowed. Annabeth had been the first of his friends to leave him.

He remembered that day perfectly. It had become impractical for her to stay with him, and he "no longer had anything to bring to this relationship." They argued all the time, and Annabeth had started seeing someone else. Finally, Annabeth "let him go."

Looking at her now, Percy wondered what he ever saw in her. He no longer lusted after her, not in the slightest. No, the feeling that curled in his stomach bordered more on disgust. He felt disgusted that she took advantage of him, and disgusted that he let her. As he walked nearer to her, he lowered his head, averted his gaze, and tugged on his hood so it would cover his face. Hopefully she wouldn't recognize him and speak to him. As always, she did what suited herself.

"Oh! Percy Jackson? Is that really you?" she asked, feigned shock written all over her pretty little face. She was dressed for work, her eyes done up in mascara and smoky gray shadow and her lips traced in blood red.

Percy scowled, all too aware of his shabby, faded sweatshirt and dirty, ripped up jeans. "Yes," he said slowly, "That would be my name."

She took a step back, and Percy imagined pushing her into the busy street. "Why, I didn't recognize you at first under all that hair! Remember when you always fussed over your hair? It seems so long ago."

"Well, it's been a while since I've been able to worry about frivolous things like that."

"Hmm, yes," she agreed, "Your current position is most unsatisfactory." She paused. "Perhaps a drink over at my place would cheer you up? Jason and Piper would be there, Frank too. It would be just like the good old days, huh?"

Percy knew he was being given a chance at redemption. Maybe this was the reason she was standing here on his street corner. He sighed and considered his options. Choice one would be the easiest, the one he would have chosen five years ago: accepting her offer and being reunited with his old group of friends. They would host high class parties and drink expensive alcohol and dance the night away like they did when they were younger. But it wouldn't be nearly the same. Choice two was harder, but it would be for the best: declining the request and forever removing himself from their company. It would be social suicide, true, but he never would be a true part of their group again, not after five years of separation. With a heavy heart, he made his decision.

"I would, but I don't think I can. I'm terribly sorry," he heard himself say, "Have a nice day, Miss Chase."

 Annabeth looked mildly surprised at his decision. "I guess time does change a person. Well, if that is what you choose, then I can't help you." She turned to walk away. "Goodbye, Percy Jackson," she called over her shoulder, "You know, I might even miss you."

Percy glared at his ex-girlfriend's retreating figure for a moment. After she disappeared into the fog and rain, he mentally shook himself free of the memories. Instead of crossing the street as he normally would, he turned left and trudged to the bar down the street. He definitely needed something strong after today.

* * *

 

Five beers later, Percy was almost happy. Well, happy as in he had stopped caring about Annabeth's sudden reappearance in his life today. As he ordered a sixth, a stranger slid into the seat beside him. "Make that two," the man said, "It's on me."

Percy looked at him, surprised. The man was tall; he had about an inch on Percy, who was himself a tall man. A mop of scraggly black hair hung in his eyes. Percy felt strangely attracted to those eyes. They were a dark gray, so dark they seemed black and endless, and they stood out from his tanned skin. He smelled of something strange, a haunting combination of pomegranate and lemon and burnt sugar.

Once Percy came back to his senses, he asked, "Who are you?"

The stranger smiled, the mysterious air around him thickening. "Your guardian angel."

"What? That's the most creative you can come up with?" Percy snorted in amusement. If he had a guardian angel, he wouldn't be in this mess.

To Percy's surprise, the man laughed with him. It was a beautiful sound, like the resonating chimes of church bells. "Okay, I guess I have to give you that one. I'm no angel, that's for certain."

"So what's your name?" Percy asked again.

He shrugged. "Nico di Angelo. And yours?"

"Percy Jackson." Nico nodded like he knew this already but asked simply as a courtesy. Percy was faintly surprised that this didn't come across as creepy in any way. _No,_ He decided, _This is more like meeting an old friend, one I knew but forgot about._

They both downed their beers and ordered another. Percy felt himself grow more comfortable around this man. It went against all logic, trusting a man he met only half an hour ago, a man he didn't know anything about save for his name.

_This is how people get themselves killed,_ the logical part of his brain said, _Or abducted. Abduction is pretty popular as well._

To this, his heart responded, _But he's so nice. Yes, he is a bit strange, popping out of the evening and into my life, but he is genuine. I know this. He has such a nice way of not prying, and such a nice laugh, and nice eyes and a nice face._ And this also was true. Percy felt himself being drawn to Nico. _Just like a magnet,_ he thought, which was extremely clichéd, but then, this whole thing was clichéd. As the evening wore on, Annabeth faded to a shadow of a dream.

"So," Nico asked eventually, "What happened today?"

Percy tensed, knowing this was going to come up and knowing he shouldn't run from the past, but then again, Nico looked merely concerned. After a brief internal battle, Percy gave in. "I ran into an old... friend."

Nico nodded, catching onto the fact that it was more than just a _friend_ that was bothering him. To Percy's relief, he refrained from pressing Percy further. They both took another gulp of their drinks and settled into an uneasy silence.

"She was more than a friend," Percy said quietly, a few minutes later, "I thought I loved her, once. But as my status in society slowly slipped away from me, she slowly left too. She started seeing another guy, someone named Malcolm who was in her class."

"And did you leave her?" Nico asked, just as quietly. There was something shining in his eyes, and Percy realized with a shock that it was anger, dark and murderous.

_Any second thoughts?_ his mind asked smugly.

_Nope,_ said his heart confidently.

Percy took a deep breath and went with his heart. "I'd like to say I did, but I didn't. I stayed with her, hoping she would change her mind and see that I was the one. Apparently, I wasn't, not when I was too poor to buy her diamond rings and necklaces like I did, once." Taking another shaky sip from his drink (his eighth?), Percy continued, his voice growing stronger. "She _used_ me, sucked all the money and self-confidence out of me. Of course, once I confronted her about it all, she made out like it was my fault we were like this, that I was too dense to possibly understand. She was the one who left me, and that was something she made sure everyone knew."

"She doesn't deserve you," Nico growled, "And I hope you know that."

"I do, now. When she left, she made sure I'd never forget her. She took anything she could, and damaged the rest. Of course, she was too clever and too rich to get in trouble for it. Things all went downhill from there. I know, just when it seems like things can't get worse, it did. My mother, the kindest and most generous woman I knew, died in a car accident. She was gone before we got to the hospital. I never received any of her inheritance, which I am perfectly fine with since it went to charity, but that left me broke. I lost my apartment, my job, and my friends, who were never my friends to begin with. But, I survived."

Nico just nodded, empathy written on his face. He wasn't pitying or apologizing for something he didn't cause, and Percy appreciated that. "Thanks for listening," he said awkwardly, "I know I'm drunk and emotional, so thanks for listening to me rant."

"That's what I'm here for," Nico said, "I know how it feels to fall from grace. It's painful, to say the least. Sometimes, though, you fall from something good and into something even better. One day, you'll find it."

His part said, Nico lapsed into silence once more. _He's perfect,_ Percy thought. He truly listened and truly cared and truly didn't mind Percy's slurred and desperate ranting. Out loud, Percy asked, "Where have you been all my life?"

Nico smiled and shook his head. "Maybe you'll see one day."

The talk turned to more cheerful topics. They talked about music, sports, and hobbies. Spurred only partly by the alcohol in his system, he asked randomly, during a pause in the conversation, "Did it hurt?"

Nico raised his eyebrows. "Did what hurt?"

"Your fall from heaven," Percy said, grinning as though it were obvious.

To Percy's surprise, Nico went dead serious. "Like Hell."

Percy didn't know what else to do, so he laughed shakily as if it were a joke. Conversation continued, just as if that had never happened. After all, tonight was all about forgetting.

Finally, it occurred to Percy that he really should be getting home. He didn't have work tomorrow, so... "My place, or yours?" he asked.

Nico grinned, and it was the smile Lucifer might have smiled, moments before he fell from Heaven. "Yours, of course."

Percy grinned back, and together they stumbled out of the bar, their hands clasped together. Nico glanced at Percy, put a finger to his lips, and pulled him into a full out run. Percy opened his mouth to protest, about to point out that Nico has no idea where he is supposed to be going, but they are already standing in front of Percy's little apartment.

Percy blinks his deep green eyes up at Nico, confusion written across his face. Nico simply smiled mysteriously and pulled Percy into a soft kiss. Percy gasped in surprise at the unexpected action, but he didn't protest. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the other man's neck, deepening the kiss. Percy relished the strange taste of Nico, alcohol mingling with something sweet like sugar.

As they broke apart for a breath of air, Percy opened the apartment door. Nico hesitated at the threshold, gazing at Percy as if wanting permission to enter the room. Percy cocked his head before nodding cautiously. Nico smiled, a genuinely happy smile, and came in. Percy, too drunk to attempt to figure out the puzzling man, tugged on his arm like a young child and led him into his modest bedroom.

Stepping around the piles of clothes, Percy pulled the other on top of him in bed, leaning into another kiss, this one more passionate and less sweet.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Percy woke up to find Nico gone, no trace but a hint of his scent lingering in the air, as if he had been a ghost. Percy rolled over and groaned, aching in places he never ached before, when he was with Annabeth. He dimly took in the name and number written in elegant cursive on his hand and remembered a low voice murmuring a slow "I'll be watching over you" that seemed a lot less creepy than it should have been. Percy sighed and fell back asleep, truly content for once in his life.


End file.
